Counting the Ways
by festival-chan loves books
Summary: This is a collection of oneshots. No theme, no single pairing. Latest chapter: SasuSaku. Title is from that Elizabeth Barrett Browning sonnet.
1. Random: KarinSuigetsu

It happened to be the most random thing Suigetsu had ever done. Also, probably the bravest.

"Hey, Karin?" he asked, leaning into her face and grinning sharply-pointed teeth at her.

"What? Go away, you have bad breath." She tried to convey with her eyes the concept of "Get out of my face, freak."

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Will it make you shut up and go away if I do?"

He paused, thinking.

"Nope. So?"

"Sure."

Juugo looked around, rather expecting the world to end, while Sasuke in Konoha suddenly felt like rejoicing for no apparent reason.

* * *

So, I decided to try my hand at one of these 100-word-drabble things... 

I'd like to do a hundred, but I can't say that there will be 99 more chapters. Maybe a few, though. I'd like to do more. I have some ideas.

I will update my other stories soon! (I just get sidetracked sometimes.)


	2. Another Life: KibaIno

"I think we were lovers in another life," Ino tells him one night.

Kiba just sort of frowns at her. Inuzukas don't believe in more than one lifetime. Yamanakas do.

"Why?" he asks, puzzled.

"Because when I go through your mind, I find bits and pieces of hidden memories and I find that they are similar to things that have turned up in my mind," she says. "And plus... there's all that stuff we just _knew _about each other."

He gazes at her, curious. "Is that possible?"

She shrugs. "Geez, if Naruto can ask Hinata out... Anything's possible, right?"

* * *

Random, but that's kinda the point. I'll take requests for pairings, and even themes! 


	3. Rough: LeeSaku

His hands were what she noticed.

They were rough, from beating up poles and walking on his hands and heaven only knows what else in his efforts to prove that he wouldbe _the very best taijutsu specialist to ever walk the streets of Konoha and nothing was going to stop him and his flames of YOUTH!_

His rough hands grated on her smooth ones (because Sasuke _must _like soft girls with soft hands) when they walked hand in hand.

Sakura resolved that she, too, ought to work hard- so hard her hands grew rough- to be worthy of him.

* * *

Just to clarify, Sakura was in love with Lee now, but when she had been in love with Sasuke, just as with her hair, she took care of her hands the way that she thought he would like them.

Please review!


	4. Why Not? : SasuHina

"I l-love you, Narut-to-kun," she said, pink-cheeked.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, but I don't love you," he said as softly (which surprised Sasuke).

Hinata paled, fainting. Sasuke didn't think she had plans for that answer.

And so, Sasuke picked her up and carried her home. She woke up in his arms.

"Hey, Hinata."

She blushed at his tone- like he'd known her all his life.

"Hello, Sasuke-s-"

"Nah, just Sasuke."

Commence awkward silence.

"Would you go out with me?" he asked. She was too shocked to reply. So he continued. "Why not?"

She thought.

"Why not, ind-deed. Yes."

* * *

Hm... I think I'll make another SasuHina one eventually, one that maybe goes more in-depth... SasuHina doesn't work for me unless there's a buildup, because Sasuke doesn't even really know who Hinata is... Oh well.

Let me know what you think!


	5. Didn't He? : SasuHina

Why did he go again? Just when things were going right and working out and they'd just been _married_! Maybe she was going to have his _kid _now and this was all just... so wrong!

If Sasuke ever came back she'd-

The tears began to fall. She'd kiss him and hug him and never let him go, like a mom who'd lost her child in the grocery store.

But she knew exactly why he'd went- the part of him that howled with pain when they walked by the Uchiha district (not that he'd ever howled out loud, but she saw it in those black, deep, eyes), the part of him that growled with anger when the Akatsuki was mentioned, the part of him that cried with sorrow when he saw a small boy tailing after a older, cooler, and much more sophisticated (or so they thought) brother... That part of him pulled him away.

But he'd come back again- didn't he always come back?

Didn't he?

* * *

Okay, this was way longer than 100 words but I'm changing my rules. Less than 200 words. There.

Please review!


	6. Not THAT Good : GaaraLee Friendship

"So..." began Gaara awkwardly. Curse Temari for setting this up. In his head he heard her smarmy voice prattling on about how he needed to make friends. Oh, yes. She was getting fangirl duty next week.

"Gaara-kun!" exclaimed Lee excitedly. "I have heard a great many things about you, and I would love to congratulate you on your wondrous accomplishments!"

"Ah, yes," said Gaara smoothly. "You speak of my becoming Kazekage, correct?"

Lee nodded. "And your beautiful rescue of the lovely desert flower that is Matsuri!"

Gaara nearly dropped his drink. Beautiful rescue? Hardly. And that "lovely desert flower" had just kicked his butt with a jouhyou in a training session. But Gaara felt it imprudent to argue with that. "She is my student, I could do nothing less."

"Still, Gaara-sama! It was youthful!" Lee's eyes were teary. Gaara quite liked this sudden appreciation.

Yep, he and Lee would be pretty good friends from now on.

In an explosion of emotion, Lee embraced Gaara tearfully, who immediately squirmed out of it.

Okay, maybe not _that _good.

* * *

At 178 words, this is my longest one yet... and by far my favorite... I just couldn't pass up on Gaara squirming out of Lee's hug!

Please review!


	7. Cute : NaruSaku

"Isn't he cute?"

"... No."

Sakura glared at her husband. "He is too cute!"

"He is _not _cute because Uzumaki men are _not _cute. Uzumaki men are strong and-"

She rolled her big green eyes and interrupted him. "Oh, I get it. Is this another one of those guy things?"

"... Yes, it is!"

Commence glaring contest.

"You know, you're cute too," said Sakura coyly.

Naruto looked bemused, then sulky. "Huh? I thought we already established that Uzumaki men- Are. Not. Cute."

"No, I mean _cute_."

"... Is that a good thing?"

"Yes, dimwit."

"Oh. Okay."

* * *

101 words, and I hope you liked it!

Please review!


	8. Settled: HanaIta

"You shouldn't be here," she said, hiding behind her hands so that she couldn't see him. If she didn't look, then she wouldn't see him standing there so _hot_.

"I wanted to see you."

"They'll kill you."

"Do I look like I care?"

"_I_ care!"

"Good to know."

He moved her hands aside, leaving her eyes to stay clenched shut, and kissed her, then pulled away.

"You'll regret it if you don't look at me now. It's the first time I've seen you since I left. Maybe the last, too. Who knows? What if I found a pretty concubine?"

She surprised herself. Of their own accord, her eyes and mouth opened (the former confirming that he was, indeed, as hot as ever). "Don't you dare, Uchiha Itachi!"

"I thought so. Tell me, Inuzuka Hana, have you found a handsome boyfriend?"

"None that I like as much as you. Have you found that pretty concubine?"

He smirked. "None that I like as much as you."

"Well then," Hana said boldly. "I believe it's settled. We are meant for each other."

"I'll come as often as I can," he promised, smirk replaced with a somber expression.

"I'll be waiting," she promised.

And he left.

* * *

202 words. Screw the rules. :) I happen to feel rebellious today.

Please review!


	9. Tomato: SasuHina

"Hinata, where are the tomatoes?"

Hinata stood up, shut the cupboard door and looked up at her husband of two and a half days.

"Aren't they in the vegetable drawer?" she asked slowly, sort of confused.

"Hm... Oh."

Sasuke fell silent again.

She went back to rummaging through the cupboard for a certain pot.

_Plink._

Hinata thought she felt something hit her head, but she wasn't sure.

_Plink._

Okay, there it was again.

_Plink._

She looked up. "What was that?"

"Hm?" asked Sasuke, with a sort of strange look in his eyes, but an otherwise completely emotionless look on his face. She ignored it and went back to her search.

_Plink._

_Plink._

_Plink._

The final straw was when something managed to land on the back of her neck, and bounce its way into her shirt._  
_

"AGH!" shrieked Hinata. Sasuke jumped, looking shocked. "What the- Seeds!" She made the connection in her mind and started up the Hyuuga Glare to be aimed at him.

Sasuke suddenly stood up. "I, er, have to go to the, er, bath-"

"One of them fell down my shirt, pervert!" The only exit was through the kitchen- by Hinata. He tried to sidestep her, but was blocked by her arm.

"... I didn't aim for that."

"I. Don't. Care."

Sasuke sort of thought her head would start steaming.

Hinata was trying to find something to say. She leaned against the doorframe, hand still out and blocking the door. He could make a run for it- all he'd have to do would be to push her hand aside-

But he had an even better idea. Leaning down, he kissed her. She kissed him back. Her arm stopped blocking the door.

For a moment, he thought that he had won.

_BAM!_

He hadn't.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"Oi, Sasuke, why've you got a black eye?"

"Shut up, dobe."

* * *

Rules? 

Tch, rules are for wimps!

Okay, seriously, I just don't like counting words. And it's my birthday today. I'm turning 15. :)

So... as a birthday present? Reviews? Please?

Maybe I'll update my other stuff, but for today I just had the image of Sasuke asking about tomatoes and Hinata giving him this sort of "Oh, geez" sort of look.


	10. Logic: SasuSaku

Sakura thinks of him when she sees the color green. It sort of reminds him of her. She's not sure why... It's not like it's his favorite color or anything. Maybe it's all those days they spent in the very green training field.

Mostly, though, she thinks it's a certain memory.

Once,during a particularly easy mission, they were way ahead of schedule returning, so they decided to eat lunch in a nearby field. But having finished their mission early, they were tired, and somehow managed to fall asleep. (Kakashi just read his book.)

When Sakura sits and thinks somewhere where there's green grass, she remembers waking up to find Sasuke next to her, still sleeping and sort of snoring. He was also drooling. The grass made his nose twitch a little. She turned away before he woke up (but now wishes she hadn't).

Sakura thinks of that moment as the moment that she really did fall in love. The moment she realized that she wouldn't care if he was old or ugly, but as long as he was there beside her when she woke up, Sakura would always be happy.

She likes to sit in a field and think about this- it's her happiest memory, before the Chunin exams screwed everything up- but it only ever comes to_ Will he come back?_ and she doesn't want to listen to logic's answer, so she leaves and tries to forget.

She can't.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke is not sentimental. Not at all.

But when he sees someone- anyone- with green eyes, he thinks of her. He imagines, occasionally, that if he were to find someone with pink hair, he would definitely think of her, but he hasn't yet found that person, and doubts he ever will.

(If nothing else, he wishes he'd asked her about her hair. What kind of genes does one have to have for _pink hair_?)

It is a real problem for him, though, because in training sessions...

Training sessions with Orochimaru are a melee. Orochimaru figures that if all his warriors fight one another, they get stronger and stronger. Of course, it is not permitted to kill one another. Only Sasuke is allowed that privilege. Not that he ever takes Orochimaru up on it.

And if someone in training at the same time as him has green eyes, Sasuke can't help it- he will instinctively _not hurt_ that person. Instinctively, he has even protected some of them. Instinctively, which means that after he's gotten over the shock of their eyes, he can easily incapacitate them.

Orochimaru, Kabuto, and logic tell him this is a weakness, and that weaknesses must be dealt with accordingly, but a small part of him knows that this is a weakness he will gladly keep.

* * *

SasuSaku angst for you! Hope you like. Please review. 


	11. Waiting: ShikaIno

I'm researching flower meanings. D: -has officially lost it-

* * *

Shikamaru lay back on the grass, staring up at the clouds and breathing in the thick flower aromas that permeated the Yamanaka flower garden. Ino had needed some help in the shop today, but she was particularly quiet.

This unusual silence, however, did not prevent her from being as bossy as usual.

"Get Anko's cactus ready! Kakashi wanted it today!" she said, smacking him over the head with a trowel.

"Eh, so troublesome," he grumbled, but stood up and walked over to the prickly plant anyway. While best debating how to water it, as the cactus was in the way of the roots, he figured that if he put his finger _carefully _in between the close-together spikes, and tilted it with the one hand rather than picking up the pot which looked heavy, he could pour the water underneath the plant. He was just placing his hand, when Ino interrupted.

"I broke up with Sasuke today."

"EH? Oh, _ouch_..." he said, having missed and placed his finger directly on a spike. He pulled it off deftly and healed his hand, using a smaller healing technique he'd learned from Tsunade.

"Huh? Did you hurt yourself?" Ino asked, worried-looking and seemingly forgetting about the sunflowers she was debating between.

"Nah, I'm fine. You broke up with Sasuke?"

"Yeah," she said quietly, feeling the petals of a sunflower meant for Hinata.

A short pause ensued.

"Why?" he asked carefully.

He did know the answer, of course.

He'd always known the answer- as to why Ino and Sasuke weren't a good pair for one another. Now, all Ino needed to do was figure it out herself. But his real question was: had she?

"He... he didn't listen to me," she said sadly. "It was all about Sasuke. And I found out that even though I could obsess over him, I couldn't fully lose myself in him. I'd always wanted to be the one he loved. Well, all Sasuke wants is someone to love him. He doesn't want to love anyone."

She paused. Shikamaru waited. It didn't bother him. What was two minutes compared to an entire lifetime of waiting?

"Which isn't bad, I suppose. But he wants me to be the one to ask. He wants his girlfriends to beg and plead after him. Never mind that he asked them out. Never mind that he's supposed to show his care for them. He doesn't. It's just... all the girl's job. And... I need someone who will listen to me, from time to time at least. Sasuke didn't care. He didn't even say 'hi', ever, really. Just a sort of grunt."

Another pause.

"Sakura just wants to love him. And that's all well and good, but I hope she's not too crushed if- or when- he doesn't love her back."

Ino paused, then shook her head. "I worded that badly. I mean that he didn't ever show he loved. He never listened, or asked questions, or spoke, even. I need someone who listens, and who I can talk to. He just wanted someone to listen. And it didn't work, because I want to talk too."

Shikamaru had always known that. Ever since day one. It had made him laugh at some times, and made him absolutely, insanely frustrated at others.

"Sakura couldn't hardly listen to my complaining, either... she was too excited Sasuke was free again."

"Ino!" called her mom from inside the store. "Telephone for you! It's Sakura!"

Ino nodded. "That'll be Sakura, calling to say that Sasuke asked her out. I'll be back in a while. Can you take care of Tenten's roses? Neji wanted a dozen for her."

Shikamaru nodded. "Troublesome, but yes."

Ino rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for letting me complain to you, Shikamaru!" she said, running off towards the house. "It meant a lot to me!"

She disappeared through the doors.

_Ah, well. She'll figure out what she really wants someday. And when she does... I'll still be here. _

* * *

I think I'm going to do a couple of chapters on the flowers. I know who I wanted Hinata's sunflower to be from, but I'll let you guys pick. :) I think I've written too much of that couple recently, anyway (now I'm sure some of you can tell who it is).

The candidates are pretty much anyone (except Sasuke... xD).

You can tell me in a review, or I might make it a poll on my profile (-shameless plug- Go check there! And read what else I wrote!).

Thanks for reading!


	12. Pointy: KakaAnko

I felt like writing something really strange...

Feel free to be disturbed. In a cute, fuzzy sort of way, of course.

* * *

Anko suspiciously eyed the man in front of her, who was smiling happily (or so she assumed) under his mask. 

Well, he was smiling happily with the quarter of his face that was visible and that was good enough for her.

She then glanced at the object in his hand, which was... strange, to say the least.

"You... bought... me... a cactus?" she asked curiously.

Kakashi nodded cheerfully. "I thought you'd like it."

Anko was still suspicious. "It's really, really sharp and pointy, right?" she asked, poking it carefully with an index finger to make sure of this.

He nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't think of buying you any present that wasn't."

Anko glomped him.

"I love it!"

* * *

Aw, crazy people in love! How very... cute? - -' 

Please review! (if only to make the crazy girl madly typing at her computer happy.)

Oh! And I forgot to thank all those who wished me a happy birthday last week! (That was really nice of you. It made my day. :D)

So... thank you much and see ya next chapter!


	13. Life: KakaSaku

It was just another ordinary day in Konoha, during Naruto's absence, and she was just sitting and thinking and wondering where Team 7 just went _wrong _when all of a sudden-

_Pat_.

"Good-morning, Sakura!" said Kakashi brightly.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," she said, rubbing her eye in an attempt to hide a tear.

"And how is life for my dear student?"

"Pretty good, I guess."

He looked at her. He probably did notice the tear, she thought wryly. But if he did, he said nothing about it.

"That's no answer," he said. "I hope that when you lie on missions, they are more convincing than that."

She sighed. "So do you want the truth or another lie?"

"I asked a question, Sakura. I want the answer."

She scrutinized him for a moment.

"I hate this."

"Ah, now we are getting somewhere. Hate what?"

She gestured feebly at Konoha. "All of this. Ninja stuff. Why couldn't I just have been an ordinary girl? Just not had a major crush on Sasuke? Just... been... normal."

"My dear student..." Kakashi began, then trailed off. He sighed, and shook his head. "I don't know why. All I know is that's how it is." He sighed. "And why did all my precious people have to die? We can ask ourselves these things, or we can go and live our lives. Which do you want?"

Sakura sighed. "I don't know."

Kakashi leaned back a little. "Do you know which of the two Sasuke chose? Gaara? Neji? Before Naruto beat them up, of course."

Sakura thought. "They chose... to ask themselves."

"And which Naruto chose?"

She didn't need to think. "He chose to live."

Kakashi nodded, then beamed. "Good job! We're thinking now. So, who do you want to be like?"

"... Naruto, I guess... And Neji and Gaara, too, now that they are good people."

Kakashi nodded again.

"Now, I don't think Naruto can stand watching his precious people spiral into that. Don't let yourself, Sakura," he said quietly. "And now... I have a book to read. A monument to stand by." He sighed again. "I guess I chose to ask myself that question, don't you think?"

Sakura thought. "Then why don't you go and live?"

"Living is hard, Sakura... people are tricky things to deal with. It's better for you, but it's hard. I'm also not telling you to just live and not think about anything, but I want you to not dwell on the past. I'm at a point where I'm too lazy to do anything but that, and the only people who are still precious to me and alive are you, Sasuke, and Naruto. Those are two very tricky categories to remain in all at once. I congratulate you all."

Sakura smiled. "I'll try and stay in them," she said quietly.

"Good," said Kakashi, getting up and walking away. But before that, he put a hand on her shoulder. "And do me a favor? Don't turn into Sasuke or me- we're the object lessons, and Naruto's an example. Live." He smiled at her under his mask, doing his trademark showing-eye-squinched-shut smile and left. "Goodbye, now!"

"Goodbye!" she called after his steadily dimishing figure.

* * *

KakaSaku is strangely cute.

You know what? There are so many instances where Kakashi has a hand on Sakura- he's always petting her head, putting a hand on her shoulder, holding her back from beating up Naruto...

Isn't that weird?

Like, in KakaSaku AMV's they always have pictures, but there are so many of them... o.O

Still cute, no?

Please review!


	14. NaruIno: Things Catch Up

MYSTERIOUS MESSAGE

(on a completely random note, who reads the comic Thinkin Lincoln?)

* * *

It was a lovely day, perfect for Ino to walk through the park... so she did. Idly inspecting the flowers she came across (those little fluffy dandelions were _so _much fun to blow on and have all the little seed-things drift off), she found a shady spot under a tree and was just about to take it when she discovered it was occupied.

"Ack-!" she exclaimed, tripping over him when he stretched out as she tried to walk past him. "Oof."

"Hey, who're you?!" yelled the person defensively. He jumped up and turned away, almost as if to hide his face.

She made a small "hmph" noise. Like there could be any mistaking who it was.

Who else had bright yellow hair and a bordering-obsessive penchant for the color orange?

"Sorry, Naruto," she said, turning to walk the other direction.

He flopped back down and nodded.

Hey, wait. This was Naruto. Shouldn't he be... yelling at her, or something?

Shrugging it off, she continued (maybe Sakura had just rejected him again, or something mundane like that), and found herself following the circular path around the park... and ending up back there again. He didn't notice her.

But... this time, she couldn't mistake it. She heard a small sniffle and saw him frantically swipe at his eye with his sleeve.

Should she stop?

She almost didn't, but he looked so forlorn, just sitting there...

His eyes were closed and his face was buried in the long grass, so she crouched by him. "Naruto?"

A short jerk of the head. "That's my name."

"Are you okay?"

When he looked up, he had the most brilliantly plastic smile on his face- but his eyes were tellingly red and puffy. "'Course I am, Ino-chan. Why'd you ask?"

The smile was heart-wrenchingly fake, and she exhaled sharply- it was like a blow to the stomach.

"Naruto, you are _not _okay. I'm not that stupid. I mean, I get it, if you don't want to tell me... but..." she trailed off. "I'm really sorry for whatever it is."

"You wouldn't understand."

It was a mutter directed toward the ground, only barely intended for her ears, but she heard it.

"And why not?" It was an indignant reply.

"You're not me."

She scowled. "I would too understand. Tell me what's wrong. If it's Sakura, I might even be able to help." Anything to get that fake smile off his face...

He snorted. "Much worse than Sakura."

"What, then?" She was absolutely sincere.

"Fine," he said reluctantly. "I'll tell you... but it's kinda a secret, Ino-chan."

Secret was fine. Real secrets she could keep... not silly things like who-likes-who.

"Go on, Naruto."

"You know Akatsuki is after me, right?"

She nodded, remembering missions. Remembering Asuma... the day Shikamaru had killed Hidan...

"Do you... know it's because I'm the Kyuubi vessel?"

She gasped. "No... I never knew... Naruto, I'm so sorry." Thoughts whirled in her head. _That's why..._

Stunned, cold silence filled the warm summer air.

"Ino-chan?" he asked after a long while.

"Yeah?"

"You don't hate me now... do you?"

She blinked at him. He was absolutely sincere, sitting up and staring at her pleadingly.

"Naruto... " She almost breathed out his name, getting a crystal-clear view of his life. _That's why..._

She hugged him, awkward as it was since she hardly knew him. "Only morons and stupid people could ever hate you," she said in his ear. "You can trust me, Naruto," she added, trying to reassure him.

He returned the hug, wrapping his arms around her. Footsteps from far away reached their ninjas' ears and they jumped back awkwardly. It turned out to be a jogger who was paying no attention to them, and Naruto went back to his explanation as the person left earshot.

"It just catches up with me sometimes," he muttered, scratching the back of his head. "That- that I'm hunted... That's all."

She nodded. "I'll protect you!" A promise, rashly made but absolutely sincere.

He smiled just a little bit. "Don't worry about it, I can protect myself," he said. "I'm going to be Hokage, after all!"

Ino suddenly realized that she would (like so many others that she hardly knew about) give her life to protect that.

"I don't need a woman to protect me!" he exclaimed further, and the mood suddenly lightened.

She punched his head, just hard enough to hurt. "Baka."

"Okay. Maybe if she punches like that I need a woman to protect me... AHA! SAKURA-CHAN WILL BE MY BODYGUARD!"

Ino grinned. Naruto was back to normal, not that terrifyingly fake smile. But the seriousness returned briefly.

"Thanks, Ino-chan."

"INO! GET BACK HERE! LUNCHTIME IS OVER!" Ino's mom called from the shop.

"You're welcome, Naruto. I better go."

She waved and watched him sit up and catch ladybugs.

* * *

Aw. The NaruIno fluffyness.

They can go be loud crazy blondes together. :D


	15. NejiTen: Bulletin Board

There is a bulletin board, for all the ninja. They are told to check it at least once a week by Tsunade, for important announcements such as at which bar the weekly Ninja Night is going to be held at, announcements, or whatever.

Of course, it often gets defaced and/or plastered with messages from the ninjas themselves.

CALL ME: 123-6277

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID

LOOKING FOR HOT SHINOBI CALL HARUNO SAKURA

HOT KUNOICHI WANTED CALL UCHIHA SASUKE

Neji laughed aloud at the last one, and scoured the message board for the actual important information he was looking for.

Which was when he saw it.

_If you like the beach. If you like Honey Nut Chex Mix. If you like to read steampunk. Listening to rock/alternative/pop. If you like pina coladas. If you don't mind the rain.  
_

There was always a pencil tied to the bulletin board so corrections could be made- of course, it was often used for altercations and additions of "THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID HAHAHAHA".

Neji, intrigued by the message (obviously in a girl's handwriting), wrote a response.

And maybe it wasn't the most articulate thing ever, but Neji rather liked it when he was done.

_I like the beach. Honey Nut Chex Mix is good. Not sure what steampunk is, but I like sci-fi, and I don't listen to rock/alternative/pop very often- more like just rock, but I like pina coladas and I don't mind the rain._

He posted it next to the first one and left.

* * *

A week later, he found a reply.

_Steampunk is a genre- sort of alternate-universe sci-fi in which the world continues with steam-driven technology_.

He scrawled a reply, just to let her know he got it.

_Sounds cool. Any recommendations?_

* * *

The next week, a list of books showed up on the paper.

He wrote _I'll check them out._

* * *

Neji didn't get a reply for two weeks, which was actually enough time for him to find all those books and read them.

When a reply did come, it was as follows:

_Read those books yet? Sorry it took so long, I was on a mission_.

Neji smiled.

_Good books, but I think we better meet to discuss them_.

He checked the board every day for the next week.

* * *

_I agree. Time? Place?_

Neji did some sort of weird victory-dance which involved punching the air and freaking out Shikamaru who had just come around the corner.

* * *

_I'll be at Ninja Night next week. _

* * *

_I'll be the one in a blue dress_.

* * *

_I'll be the one reading._

* * *

He went the next week, bringing his book, and... didn't see anyone in a blue dress.

Sitting down at the bar stool, he decided to not get a pina colada, which was when he heard the door open. He looked up from his book only to see a girl with a blue Chinese-style dress walk in.

Her wavy brown hair reached about the middle of her back. She anxiously looked around until she saw him with his book in his hand.

"Neji?" she gasped.

"Tenten?" he asked, wondering if this was some kind of joke.

"You like pina coladas? The beach?"

"Steampunk?"

"And the Honey Nut Chex Mix?"

They both nodded... and started to laugh. Neji produced a bag of the snack.

Tenten smiled.

"Well... I was planning on asking you out..." he said, blushing. "But... well... I guess I'll just go ahead anyway. Will you go out with me?"

She smiled. "'Course I will!"

* * *

"And that is why you should always check the message board," Tsunade concluded.

"Aw, baa-chan. You don't really believe we'll all fall in love with people we meet on there?"

"Writing on that thing is so troublesome."

"I- I think it's sweet..."

"Yeah!"

"I'm going to go write a letter to Sasuke right now!"

"Not if I beat you there, Ino-pig!"

Neji and Tenten grinned, fingers intertwined.

* * *

Reviews are appreciated. :)


	16. To Fit: SasuSaku

Her hand automatically went to the handle of the kunai, fitting around it as though it were the last puzzle piece, even though her mind raced.

His hand curled around the handle of Kusanagi, contours of flesh and metal melding perfectly, but his face showed no sign of his mind having consciously ordered his hand to move. He was too busy thinking about other things.

Both drew up their weapons, minds steeled years before for this event. Facing each other was hard, true, and she found it just a little harder than he did, but-

Both flicked their wrists simultaneously. With a soft sound, both weapons landed.

And only one missed.

The kunai landed perfectly in the wall behind him, despite his not appearing to have moved.

And his sword, the sword of Kusanagi, as though it belonged there, lay in the chest of the Snake Sannin, who, after a moment of shock fell over, having died within seconds. Sakura was confused.

"Sakura," he breathed, suddenly behind her. "You don't want to kill your _teammate_, do you?"

Since the Snake Sannin lay dead even to her well-trained medic-nin eyes, the man who had proved himself to be his medic lay outside dead thanks to hers truly, and Sasuke's number one weapon to her knowledge was shoved very, very deep into the Snake Sannin's heart, she grinned and fell one step back into the form of one fighting not by themselves but with a trusted friend- oh, how amazing it was to use that word about him again- and he did, as well.

And when they fought- they felt, for the first time in ages, a sense of compatibility with their team.

A sense of fitting... of _belonging..._ together.

* * *

Er, how long has it been since I posted anything?? -scratches back of head and grins in decidedly Naruto-like fashion-

So the backstory of this is that Sakura went to go find Sasuke on her own, having trained years and years for the event... only to find that once she got there, he was merely waiting for her to show up so he could kill Orochimaru and be out of there. And they did and then they fell in love -hearts-.


End file.
